Sample searches in CQPweb
Some sample searches using The Mary Hamilton Papers are listed in the table below, as possible models to be adapted or combined as needed.
Note that CQPweb searches always look for individual words or tokens, so that a search for the content of the personal name tags <persName> or <rs> ['reference string'] will show every word and punctuation mark inside that tag. Thus one occurrence of <persName> might lead, say, to four separate hits for Mrs, full stop, Mary and Delany.
Note too that part-of-speech (POS) tagging is generally over 90% accurate, while semantic tagging is inevitably patchier. For a list of POS-tags see here. For a list of semantic tags see here and here.
| search for | type of search | finds | does not find | notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| offered | Simple | offered, offerd, offer'd | Concordance has offered; offerd, offer'd variants shown only in context view. | ||
| Bri* | Simple | bring, Bristol, Britain, bridle, brilliant, etc. | abridge, Cambric, etc. | ||
| [word="Bri.*"%cd] | CQP syntax | bring, Bristol, Britain, bridle, brilliant, etc. | abridge, Cambric, etc. | Identical search to previous, converted to CQP syntax. | |
| [placeName="1"] | CQP syntax | all place-names | |||
| [placeName="1" & word="Bri.*"] | CQP syntax | Bristol, Britain, Brighton, Brighthelmstone, etc. | bring, bridle, brilliant, etc. | Variant spellings of place-names are also found. | |
| [foreign="it"] | CQP syntax | Marito, cosi, Addio, Inghilterra, etc. | All words coded as Italian. | ||
| [persName="MD"|rs="MD"] | CQP syntax | Delany, Mrs, Mary, (Delany)'s, the Dear Friend, Mrs. D: (when Widow to Mr. Pendarves), the (good Dowager's friend), Miʃs Granville, her good Aunt, etc. | The tag <persName> is for reference by a person's proper name, while <rs> ['referencing string'] is for mentions headed by a common noun. See here to find the ID assigned to any individual. | ||
| [word="(Bona.*|Buona.*|Napo.*)"%cd & persName="[^0].*"] | CQP syntax | Bonaparte, Buonapartè, Napoleon, Bonaparte's | Napoli | Searches for words with suitable beginnings that are also inside <persName>. | |
| [persName="NaB"|rs="NaB"] | CQP syntax | Bonaparte, Buonapartè, Napoleon, Bonaparte's, (the) Emperor, Mr | Napoli, Emperor Charlemagne | Correctly includes Mr: B—— in reference to Napoleon under <persName>, and the Emperor under <rs>. | |
| the | Restriction | the | Only 11 hits if Palfrey, Elizabeth selected. A Restriction search is confined to one author. | ||
| letter | Restricted | letter | Only 4 hits if Northampton is ticked as place of receiver, Hamilton, Charles and Hamilton (née Dufresne), Mary Catherine as receivers. A Restricted search allows various filters to be combined. | ||
| Delany<<20>>flatter* | Simple | That my Conduct shd. be approved of by Mrs Delany, is not only very flattering [...] Mrs. Delany flatters herself with the hopes of [...] & full of the flattering encomiums &c Mrs . D: said [...], etc. | 8 hits for Delany within 20 words either side of flatter, flatters, flattering, etc. | ||
| *_JJ* behaviour | Simple | affectionate, amiable, charming, improper, riotous, etc. | his, whose, the, etc. | 24 hits for general adjective before behaviour(s). Sorting reveals 19 different adjectives. | |
| [simple_semtag="B2" | simple_semtag="B3"] | CQP syntax | Lame, well, Cold, health, Unhurt, Fever, indisposed, Rheumatic, etc. | Over 3700 hits for semantic tags B2 (Health and disease) or B3 (Medicines and medical treatment). |